A Pirate's Perfect Birthday
by EmilyBea
Summary: Post 6-B fic where Emma wants to throw Killian a party in the style of a birthday and she chooses to celebrate on the anniversary of his coming back from the Underworld. Includes lots of fluff, some extended family fun, and a gift from Emma to her husband to make the day perfect.


_**A/N: Hello everyone! Surprise! I know I am on vacation AND to top it all off my laptop died earlier this week (so I am dealing with a whole lot of denial about how much work I lost) BUT I could not let today come and go without a little drabble filled with CS fluff. Because I have a number of readers with birthdays either today (hi Jenn!) or coming up, it seemed fitting to write something, and since last year I did a birthday celebration for Emma, this year I'm making one for Killian. Since we don't have an established day for Killian (and because I kind of get the feeling like being centuries old and from a kind of dodgy family situation might make it so Killian doesn't know/remember the actual day) I am having Emma throw his party on the anniversary of the day he comes back from the Underworld. As such it's a post 6-B fic. Anyway hope you guys enjoy and thanks for reading!**_

Staring at the fully decorated and brightly lit living room within her and Killian's home, Emma had to admit that things were going better than she'd at first anticipated.

When she originally came up with the idea of a celebration in Killian's honor done in the style and with the purpose of a birthday, she'd had understandable concerns. After all her husband, fond as he was of celebrating her and the other members of their family and friends in town, wasn't usually predisposed to moments celebrating him or providing him with what he felt for were undue accolades. For a man who was so charming and who often played at roguish swagger Killian would rather not be the center of attention at the end of the day. But Emma knew in her heart that Killian more than deserved to be celebrated and that even if he resisted today's activities, she would be sharing a gift with him that would make it all worth it.

"Are you sure you don't want to go a little bigger with the decorations?" Her mother asked in a genuine tone, pulling Emma from her quiet musings as she did. "You know it's not too late for us to embellish the theme a little bit. We could do something with sailing or the ocean or anything really... Oh I know! Pirates of the Caribbean! Killian's seen those movies, right?"

Emma smiled her mother's ideas knowing that Snow meant the best when she put forth plans for an extension of the party's merriment, but if she gave her mother too much leeway then Emma would run the risk of ruining the party before it even began. If they went too flashy or too big that simply wouldn't be a party for Killian and that would be a shame, especially when Emma believed that she had found the perfect balance that would make this party both enjoyable to Killian and to all of their eager guests as well. It was old world meets new world in many ways but there would be good food and music and even a cake with rum infused frosting for dessert.

"Everything looks perfect as is, Mom. You've already done such a wonderful job and you've been a big help."

That response allowed Emma with a way out that didn't hurt her mother's feelings, and she hoped that her Mom would believe her praise because Emma meant every word. The truth was Emma wasn't exactly cut out for party planning and none of these little details and thoughts had ever mattered much to her or ever came naturally. In this marriage there was one partner who was predominantly the thoughtful one with grand gestures and big surprises aplenty and that was Killian, but now Emma was trying to take a cue from his playbook so to speak.

"I think this is incredibly sweet Emma," Belle said as she approached from the kitchen where she had been getting much of the food for the evening plated and ready to go. "And it's also very symbolic. After all, this is the anniversary of when he came back to you, right?"

Emma nodded, unsurprised that her and Killian's friend had figured out Emma's underlying intentions. One year ago today in the midst of some of the worst pain Emma had ever endured, where her heart has been broken and all hope seemed lost, light returned to her world once more when Killian was brought back to her through a magic too strong and too powerful to fully comprehend. That day had been the start of a whole new chance for both Emma and Killian to do this whole true love thing right and they had made the most of that opportunity living every day like it might be their last but hoping all the while that they would have the happily ever after that was promised to all heroes. In many ways both of them had been reborn on that day, and so it only seems fitting that a day like that should be cherished and remembered and that on this day Emma should try and make her husband see just how much he meant to her.

"It is, yeah. But it's crazy to think how different our lives are now. We might never be 'normal' but this whole not constantly fighting the forces of evil thing... Well it's pretty amazing."

"It's nothing less than you both deserve," Emma's father quipped from the other end of the room. "I think this family and this town have had just about enough trouble to last a lifetime."

Everyone easily agreed with David's shrewd analysis and Emma felt a surge of warmth in her chest at the thought that everyone she loved and everyone she cared for truly had found peace in the aftermath of the final battle. Each person here had played a role in Emma's being strong enough to overcome her fate, but the one person who had done the most and whose love had shown throughout every moment no matter how dark with unwavering strength was Killian. He had been her rock when times were hard and he had been her faith when all hope seemed lost, and Emma knew that he would always continue to be her biggest fan and most adamant supporter as long as they lived.

At that moment the front door flew open and in a rush that was unexpected Emma watched as Henry came clamoring through with an earnest look on his face. For a second fear overtook her and there was a return to the old worries of the past. A look like that might mean there was some big bad knocking on their door poised to wreak havoc or that someone might be in grave danger, but then Emma noticed that though Henry seemed frazzled he wasn't truly upset and her gut told her that whatever he was about to say she could handle.

"Henry what's wrong?" Snow asked quickly but Henry's eyes stayed on Emma.

"We've got a slight hiccup in our plan. I know I was supposed to bring Killian after we were finished sailing on the Jolly, but he wanted to stay behind and short of saying you were in trouble I don't think there was anything I could do to get him to come."

"Well this is typical. We throw the pirate a party and he's too wrapped up in that precious boat of his to even come," Regina said with attempted sarcasm that Emma could plainly see through. No matter what she said, Regina had grown to consider Killian a friend and she did care about him underneath all of that dry wit.

"I tried to get him here, I really did. I even floated the idea of letting him make that mackerel stuff he's always talking about for dinner, but he didn't bite."

Hearing more of what had happened and just how much enticement Killian had denied to avoid coming home made Emma smile despite herself and she began to piece together parts of the puzzle that might escape the others in the room. If she had to guess Emma would say that Killian, smart and ever observant as he was, was likely onto them and trying to stall, but there was a way to get him here and Emma knew the time had come to make her move.

"That's all right kid I've got it from here," Emma promised as she gave Henry a hug before saying goodbye to the others and heading out the door in search of the docks. She chose to walk instead of using magic and the journey was quick and the weather outside was mild enough that it was more than pleasant, but the best part undoubtedly was when she was finally aboard the Jolly Roger and was reunited with the man she loved.

"So... where you planning on returning to us land bound folk any time soon, or is this your move to get the hell out of dodge?" Emma asked after quietly sneaking up to the deck and watching Killian for a few seconds where he stood at his perch at the ship's edge. When her voice sounded out between them he turned immediately and Emma could see even through the clear intensity he was grappling with that he was relieved to be reunited with her again. It was just the way he always was, and that quiet but ever present concern was an amazing and unspoken reassurance that Emma was loved completely by her husband and that nothing would ever change that.

"You joke, love, but you know there's no leaving for me. Not without you at least." Emma let out a light laugh at the thought of them leaving every care and responsibility behind them for a life on the high seas before stepping forward to take the hand he offered willingly and feeling that spark of connection as soon as they were joined. "What do you say we set sail and go wherever the winds take us?"

"I say it sounds pretty perfect as long as I'm with you, but tonight's not so good. We've got plans."

"Aye, I know about the party, Swan," Killian announced, as if somehow he'd been keeping that little fact secret when his awareness was written all over his face.

"I figured as much when you gave Henry the slip with no clear reason," Emma confessed, prompting a surprised look from Killian before understanding infiltrated his piercing blue eyes and a softness returned to his features once more. Instinctively he pulled her into his arms wrapping her up in his embrace, and Emma welcomed that, stepping into him and into the place that had come to feel most like home to her in the whole wide world.

"It's not that I don't appreciate the gesture, my love, because I do, and timing it so precisely with my coming back from the Underworld was brilliant on your part. As I've said before my life truly began anew when I was given another chance to be by your side, and it's as good a day as any to be grateful for. I just... Well truth is I've never had one of these, at least not one I can remember."

Hearing that (even though Emma had anticipated that might be the case) stung in a painful way and her heart went out to Killian as she thought about the stories she had heard from his less than happy and wholesome childhood and the largely unfortunate years that followed. They were very alike in this, in how life had robbed them of so many simple pleasures a person should know, but now Emma was hoping to rectify some of those old wounds and also share new joys that would grant them more of those miraculous second chances their love was prone to creating.

"There's no better time to try it out than now," Emma offered as her hand came to cup his cheek and she smiled at him and the feelings of rightness only he could bring into her life.

"Oh really? And why is that?" Killian inquired, teasing a bit more as he did and allowing himself to leave behind his earlier worrying. It was a beautiful sight for Emma to see him do so too, for she knew how hard it was to battle ghosts of lives past and she was always in awe of Killian's willingness to try even when the going was tough.

"Because I'm hoping we will have at least another sixty years together and it's only fair that we both get a birthday to celebrate," Emma murmured, picturing in her mind's eye where they would be ten, then twenty, and fifty years down the line. The visions were hazy of course, and they were open to changing since she couldn't really see the future, but the one thing Emma was certain of was that she and Killian would be a team and they'd be happy. "And besides, this year I have the perfect gift to give you."

"You needn't have troubled youself, Swan. You know the best thing in the world is you. What else could possibly compare to calling you mine?"

His words were touching and heartfelt and Emma let them wash over her skin as she felt the rumble of his lilted voice flow over her as well. Tears pricked at her eyes and she could feel the swell of emotion inside her brought not only by the good fortune she was about to share, but by this unique and remarkable man who loved her so. Killian didn't try to be perfect by any means, and he was clear with her and with everyone that he was only human and that he would make mistakes, but for Emma he was every ideal made real. He loved her with everything in him, brought passion and joy into her world every single day, and he looked at her as he did now - like she was the rarest gem of all - so often that it was almost commonplace. But this feeling in her heart would never be common, and the magic they'd found together would never dull in any way, especially not in the sight of what she had to tell him now.

"Maybe finding out you're going to be a father?" Emma whispered, her hand taking Killian's in hers and bringing it over her tummy that hadn't yet begun to show but was destined to do so soon since right now a little girl or boy was growing bigger and bigger with each passing day.

"I'm going to - a father – you mean – you're – I mean we… Swan?!"

The mumbled words and incoherent babbling was so unlike Killian in every way, but to Emma it was beyond endearing, and watching the whole host of reactions that crossed his face was brilliant. He went through every phase she'd been in since finding out she was pregnant, excitement, glee, a little bit of trepidation, but mostly there was this love infused thankfulness that only someone who had lost everything before could know. The two of them had seen the darkest depths of what life could offer, and so it made this moment where things were so totally and completely good all the more wonderful.

"Yup. You and I have roughly six months to get ready for a new addition to the Jones family, and then you'll get a new, slightly less 'colorful' moniker: Daddy."

That was evidently the final straw for her husband, and the next thing Emma knew she was being pulled closer, her lips crashing against Killian's as he kissed her with so much feeling and emotion that it superseded all other things. It was heated and yet sweet all at once, intimate but unabashed in its publicness, and truthfully Emma couldn't tell where she ended and where Killian began because she was so wrapped up in him that she lost the ability to decipher anything but that she loved him and that she was really and gloriously happy.

The rest of the world faded away for a while then as one kiss turned to two and then three and then more than Emma could count, and all that remained in the meantime was the two of them, both thrilled and elated at the new adventure they had waiting for them and this next chapter of their lives that would be so worth all that hard work and fighting they'd put in the past few years. This was a part of that whole happy beginning they were after all along, and with Killian by her side Emma knew she was more than ready for this new challenge and this next step they would take together.

"Every day you give me more and more reason to love you, Emma, and today has been no different," Killian said when they finally pulled apart, their foreheads resting against each other as Emma closed her eyes and just soaked in this perfect moment with her one true love. "I don't know how a man can possibly be this blessed, but I swear to you this child will know just as you do that there is nothing and no one above our family to me. _This_ , right here, is the most important thing, and it always, always will be."

The power of those words for Emma, a woman who had at one time had considered herself to be nothing more than a lost little girl, was immense, and again those happy tears fell, spilling over her cheeks before they were wiped away by Killian as he whispered more words of affection and love. In response the only thing Emma could think to do was tell him that she loved him too and then kiss him senseless all over again, waiting party guests be damned.

Eventually, however, the two of them did face the music, arriving at the party and telling everyone the good news (because Killian couldn't bear to keep the secret). There was, of course, the obvious hope and joy Emma had expected from their family and friends, and in the end the night was a great one that was more than worthy of remembering because of all the laughs and enjoyment that was had amongst them all. And every year from that point on when that same date rolled around, Emma didn't hear any complaints from Killian about his 'birthday,' because he agreed that there was more than enough cause to celebrate and more than enough blessings to keep the Jones family happy and grateful forever more.

 _ **Post-Note: So there we have it! Another fic where I give Emma and Killian more pieces of the happily ever after puzzle I am so hoping they manage to find. I truly don't think I can write enough of these, but I will certainly try in the absence of seeing it on the show itself. Anyway I hope that this chapter found all of you in the midst of good days. Thank you all for reading and happy birthday to my lovely readers celebrating in the coming weeks!**_


End file.
